House Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday will put lawmakers on record whether they support a change to the arcane procedure that fired his predecessor.
Lawmakers will vote on a new House rule package from Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican, that would make it more difficult to oust the speaker after encountering the move’s fallout during the previous session of Congress.
It takes only one lawmaker to bring a motion to vacate the chair to the House floor to initiate the proceedings to oust a speaker, which was successfully done by former Rep. Matt Gaetz against former Speaker Kevin McCarthy in 2023.
Mr. Johnson’s proposed package unveiled on Wednesday would increase the threshold for the motion to vacate from one lawmaker to nine, a move many House Republicans have called for since the lower chamber was stalled for nearly a month finding a replacement for Mr. McCarthy.
Mr. Johnson, whose rise to the speakership was a byproduct of the arduous hunt to find a new speaker, preferred to let lawmakers decide what would happen to the motion to vacate rather than weigh in.
Indeed, the tweak to the procedural move is the product of a deal between the hardline House Freedom Caucus and the more moderate Republican Main Street Partnership late last year.
Along with raising the threshold, the proposed change would require that a majority of Republicans vote in favor of booting the speaker. Only eight GOP lawmakers, and all House Democrats, banded together to oust Mr. McCarthy.
But before lawmakers vote on the rules package, they must elect a speaker. Despite being armed with an endorsement from President-elect Donald Trump, Mr. Johnson faces uncertainty heading into Friday’s vote.
He can afford to lose only one more Republican after Rep. Thomas Massie, Kentucky Republican, reaffirmed that he wouldn’t support Mr. Johnson. Rep. Victoria Spartz, Indiana Republican, and others in the Freedom Caucus say they’re undecided.
Mr. Johnson argued on Thursday that there was no time for “palace drama,” and that Republicans needed to elect him quickly in order to move to the certification of Mr. Trump’s presidency next week.
“We have many important things pressing on us right now, so there’s no time to waste,” he told “Fox & Friends.” “We have to stay unified.”
The 119th Congress’ package includes a slew of changes to House procedural rules, like a name change for the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, which could become the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and nixing the Diversity and Inclusion Office.
It would also allow for House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, Ohio Republican, to resubmit subpoenas that were originally submitted in the 118th Congress.
The package outlines three instances, including a subpoena against the Justice Department to get access to the tapes of special counsel Robert Hur’s interviews with President Biden over his mishandling of classified documents.
The other two subpoenas would be against Justice Department attorneys Mark Daly and Jack Morgan for their testimony about possible favorable treatment of Hunter Biden in the criminal investigation against him.
Republicans’ rule package allows for the Judiciary Committee to “take all necessary steps as may be appropriate to continue the civil actions” initiated by the previous Congress.
It also tees up a vote for a dozen bills, including a spate of legislation related to immigration that would deport migrants who have been convicted of sex crimes or domestic violence or who have assaulted a police officer.
The package revives the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which requires voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Also included are bills related to abortion, transgender student athletes and sanctions against the International Criminal Court.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.